Touted as the next big star of Australian tennis after receiving a wildcard into the main draw at Melbourne Park as a 17-year-old in 2017, the world was Destanee Aiava’s oyster.
Yet what most people don’t see behind the scenes is the pressure and anxiety of being placed in the public spotlight as a professional athlete. It isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
Stuck in a dangerous mindset, Aiava attempted to take her own life on Easter Sunday two years ago, made to feel “unworthy of being loved” after relationship breakdowns. She took to Instagram to admit she “did not want to make it to her 22nd birthday.”
Since then, Aiava has been nothing short of an inspiration to people suffering from mental health struggles - demonstrating her incredible tenacity. Australian tennis and society is all the better for her unwavering presence.
Last year, the 24-year-old spent her weeks struggling in the lower-tier tournaments with little money to get by.
Fast forward less than 12 months, and Aiava is now a US Open main draw entrant and has guaranteed herself $US 100,000.
She spoke to The First Serve’s Brett Phillips after her third round victory in qualifying last week, as the emotions were understandably running through.
"It feels so good winning three rounds of qualifying and I've been in the same situation a couple of times before and always fallen short, but [the third round win] was extra special,” Aiava told The First Serve.
Despite still being young in her career, Aiava has been forced to battle in countless Grand Slam qualifying events, including three first round exits at the French Open and a painful loss in the third round of Wimbledon as a teenager.
However, they weren't failures. Instead, they represented distinctive learning opportunities to grow and develop that have since been kept in the Melbournian's pocket.
"I definitely thought about my past experiences," Aiava admitted. "Even since the first round, I wasn't trying to make it bigger than it was and tried to take it one match at a time.
"My goal was to go out there and enjoy myself because you never know what's going to happen next, [and] obviously it's paid off.”
Not only did Aiava win all three qualifying battles, she did it with conviction without conceding more than four games in a set while also failing to drop a set.
In the third round, the Aussie faced former world No.20 and 2016 US Open quarter-finalist Ana Konjuh in a statement win that was far from effortless.
"The whole tournament everyone was so great and I feel like every match you're going to play is going to be tough, especially in Grand Slam qualies," she said.
"I got broken first game [against Konjuh] and I was so nervous, but I held it together and got there in the end. I'm so happy.”
When asked about the Australian love from the fans in New York, the former world No.147 welcomed the added solace with open arms.
"There were some Aussies cheering me on the last couple of days which was really nice and maybe some random people that have come to the US Open," said Aiava.
"All of the girls [Australian players] have been supportive of each other and it's really good to have so many Aussies in the main draw now, especially the girls.”
Aiava is part of a record-breaking six Australians who qualified for the US Open main draw - marking the first time in tournament history that five Aussie women have sealed their passage into the first week through qualifying.
The depth of women's tennis in Australia has come under question at times, but eight entrants in this year's edition break a 35-year record, perhaps the beginning of a new era.
"I've congratulated a few players [and] I imagine everyone has gone out to dinner and celebrated and enjoyed the rest of their night," said Aiava.
"At this ranking [100 to 200] for us girls is a little bit tough because everyone is so good regardless of ranking. There are so many boys in the top 100 and it would be good for the girls to get there, but it is tough. I don't know who's going to get there next [in the top 100], but hopefully all of us."
Through the journey of ups and downs, the former U18 Australian Championships winner has undoubtedly flourished with maturity thanks to her past experiences that have helped her maintain a level-head.
"For me it's easier because I do have a lot of interests outside of tennis," she said. "I've already thought about what I would be doing if I stopped right now. Me being on the court at the moment is on my terms and it's what I want to do [while] trying to enjoy it as much as I can.
"It's tough if I lose [the] last round of qualifying or even the first round. I have a different feeling every week. It just depends if I'm winning or losing.”
In an individual sport such as tennis, it can often be a petrifying ordeal and not for the faint-hearted.
There are no second chances in any tournament. If you lose, you’re out. It’s unforgiving nature can sometimes bring out the harshest self-critic, but Aiava has learned to deal with it over time.
"You're going to lose every week unless you win the tournament, but for me I feel like I struggle a lot when I'm losing straight after,” she confessed.
“As I've gotten older I've tried to look at it from a different perspective and I always try to remind myself that there's more to life than just tennis.”
As a reward for her commendable efforts, a meeting with fourth seed and powerful hitter Elena Rybakina awaits in the opening round in the early hours of Wednesday morning AEST.
Rybakina, a former Wimbledon champion and Australian Open finalist, will enter the tournament under an uncertainty cloud having played one match during the US swing due to injury and illness.
Nonetheless, Aiava is relishing the chance to test herself against one of the world's best.
"I wanted to play either her [Rybakina] or [Aryna] Sabalenka," Aiava revealed. "I'm so excited for that and I can't wait.
"I'm going to enjoy it heaps and I'm looking forward to it, so I'm just going to prepare over the next couple of days and enjoy it when I play."
Comments